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D-Thor

United States

BUCKLE YOUR SEAT BELT BECAUSE YOU'RE IN FOR ONE AMAZING ROLLER COASTER OF WRITING. FROM THE MOMENT I STEP FOOT INTO MY COLLEGE WRITING AND RESEARCH CLASSROOM 100% OF MY WRITING MAGIC IS BEING FIRED DIRECTLY INTO YOUR BLOODSTREAM.

Online Teaching: The Path to the Future

Dylan Thorson
Ms. Sahly
College Writing and Research
14 March 2016
Online Teaching: The Path to the Future
The world in these last 20 years has become much more connected and much more electronic. Recently, electronics have worked their way into our school system. While it has started off slowly, Schulten reports that “More than a million students, from kindergarten to 12th grade, are taking online classes” (Schulten). This increase in online students has raised many questions as to the effectiveness of online teaching for students. Many argue that online teaching is ineffective or simply unnecessary, however, the benefits brought forth by online teaching through offering another way to help students learn as well as the flexibility it provides for busy students, online teaching's necessity is undeniable.
Being a high school student myself, I am able witness first hand the wide range of students attending any given academic institution. To accommodate for the range of students, all of which learn in different ways, teachers are constantly searching for new techniques to help get through to their students. However, no matter how much effort a teacher puts into their classroom teaching, there will still be some students that struggle with any given method. “Online learning offers another way to help students who may not learn as well in conventional methods” (Benefits of Online Learning). One of the main arguments against online teaching is it's risk of being ineffective, however, that doesn't make it any more or less effective than any other teaching methods. In my school setting, I am able to learn more with one particular method than my friends, but through the adoption of different teaching methods, my friends, as well as many other students in the classroom are able to learn much more than they had previously. Allowing kids to take their classes online should be seen as just another method by which to help students who are having trouble grasping a particular subject. It might not be as effective for some students as others, but that should not discredit the entirety of online education. Snyder informs us that “Students need to determine if online study is an option for them because not everyone does well with this type of study… They can do this through asking questions such as whether or not they can learn independently or how organized they are with their time” (Snyder). Just as with any method of teaching, online teaching works better with some students than others, but there are other factors that set online teaching apart from traditional methods.
The next benefit that online classes offer students is the immense flexibility it provides. Flexibility can be seen in online learning first through the issue of location. While some may try to hold to the idea that online enrollment is unnecessary, believing that students can get their education on campus at a university without trouble, College students especially tend to have busy schedules. Many students have to balance work with their schooling, which can prove difficult at times, however, online schooling can help relieve the stress put onto those students.Taking online classes can make education accessible to anyone anywhere with internet access, often at any time that works best for them. Online classes also allow colleges and universities to enroll many more students that they could conventionally. Logan Straton, a Junior at Luverne High, enrolls in online classes because "It offers a way for me to enroll in classes that better suit my goals for the future, but aren't offered by my school." Though many believe that everyone should physically attend their classes, Snyder tells us that many colleges simply don’t have enough money or space to enroll everyone at their physical college campus, but online classes offer a way to enroll students that live very far away at a minimal cost to schools (Snyder). These electronic classes offer an opportunity for students to The flexibility in location and time provided by online schooling is beneficial for both the students and the school providing it.
Through offering another way that students can improve their learning experience and allowing the classes more flexibility to fit into the schedule of the students, online classes have come up with many of the answers to the age old problems of schooling. No one method of teaching is going to fix every problem, and it is true that some kids do not learn as well with online teaching as they would with traditional methods, but online classes serve a valuable role in modern schools and will continue to serve that role in the foreseeable future.